It is believed one of the pilots was on a flying lesson when it came down after its engine is said to have failed

The crash happened at Sao Joao Beach on a stretch of coastline known as Costa da Caparica, just below Lisbon

He also admitted to wanting to “punch” the pilot after the tragedy as he recalled the moment he saw his little girl hit by the Cessna-152.

And he appealed to the authorities to ban light aircraft from flying over beaches during an impassioned TV address following the deaths of two people including his daughter on packed Sao Joao beach near Lisbon yesterday afternoon.

The Portuguese national, who didn’t give his name and identified his daughter only as Sofia, spoke out after interrupting a live TV report on the tragedy.

He let rip as it emerged the “experienced” pilot, who was giving a younger man flying lessons, could face a five-year prison sentence if convicted on gross negligence manslaughter charges.

Local reports said the 56-year-old was trying to land on a secluded beach near Sao Joao after engine failure five minutes into their flight - but was unable to reach it in time.

According to locals, the plane had skidded across a football pitch nearby and landed on the beach

Reuters

The trainee pilot was branded a murderer by furious holidaymakers

Reuters

He will appear in court today alongside the pilot he was flying with

Reuters

Investigators are probing a possible engine failure

BeachCam

The beach was packed with sunbathers when the plane crashed

One, known only as Mafalda, told a Portuguese paper how she was forced to grab her children and flee as the plane came down over the packed beach.

She said: “Those first moments were very tense. People wanted to attack the pilot and began to shout at him that he was a killer. Everyone was really disgusted.”

The unnamed pilot and his pupil, both confirmed as Portuguese, were due in court this morning after being questioned by police.

The judicial investigation is expected to focus on whether the pilot deliberately made a beach instead of a sea landing - putting sunbathers at unnecessary risk - or was unable to make it to the water which experts have said would have been potentially more dangerous for him but safer for sunbathers.

Sofia’s dad told Portuguese station TVI 24 after identifying himself as her grieving father when he interrupted a live broadcast from Sao Joao beach: “We were on the beach at low tide where the water drains from the lake.

“I was with my brother-in-law trying to explain to my two daughters and my nephews what a rip-tide is and how it forms.

“One of my nephews pointed out the plane which was flying low by the sea wall.

“I told Sofia, who died, to run behind me, and she ran as fast as she could.

“When I saw the other children were safe and when I looked round to help Sofia, I saw her being hit.

“I went up to the man who was piloting the plane and he told me he had lost control of the aircraft. I could have punched him, I had that right, but I didn’t do it.”

EPA

Investigators are now probing the cause of the crash

EPA

It is not yet clear where the victims are from

EPA

Sunseekers look at the crashed plane near Lisbon, the Portuguese capital

Insisting the pilot had flown in a straight line from the sea wall, he added: “My opinion is that that man wanted to land the plane without any concern for others. He’s suffering, I’m sure, but his main worry was landing safely.”

He also told the TV channel: “First I want to make sure my family, my wife and my other daughter, are okay.

“Second I want to bury my daughter.

“Third, I want to make sure that man never flies again, and my fourth objective is to get these planes banned from flying over beaches.”

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Police had to restrain the angry crowds after the unnamed pilot, described by his flight school as “very experienced”, was threatened with violence.

It emerged that giant Benfica basketball player Nicolas dos Santos, who was on the beach with his family, helped officers prevent retaliation attacks from taking place.

He told local media: “I got involved to make sure there wasn’t another tragedy. I wanted to help. Assaulting the pilot wasn’t the solution.”

A recording of the Mayday call made from the 1978-built plane showed that the pilot wanted to land on a quieter beach in the nearby village of Cova do Vapor.

I told Sofia to run behind me, and she ran as fast as she could. When I saw the other children were safe and when I looked round to help Sofia, I saw her being hit

Dad of girl killed by plane

It made its emergency landing around 4.45pm, on a stretch of beach near to the Bicho d’Agua and Leblon restaurants.

Witnesses caught up in the drama said many sunbathers were caught unawares because the light aircraft approached in silence - presumably because of the reported engine failure.

A man described by police as a 56-year-old, believed to be Portuguese and unrelated to the girl who died, was also killed.

A 45-year-old woman was treated for minor arm injuries.

Journalist Enrique Pinto Coelho, who was playing on the beach with his son near the spot where the plane came down, told Portuguese TV channel SIC: “I’ve just seen this plane make an emergency landing.

Any loss of life is to be regretted but given the fact this plane came down on a beach with hundreds of people on it at the height of summer, we could have been looking at many deaths and many injuries

Lisbon Port police chief Paulo Isabel

“It came down and advanced around 100 metres in the wet sand after it landed, taking two people who were lying on the beach with it.

“We were unfortunately very near the landing spot and were playing football. It passed over the football pitch and we had to move back to avoid being hit ourselves.

“A large group of people surrounded the plane immediately. One of its wings was broken.”

Lisbon Port police chief Paulo Isabel said after the tragedy: “Any loss of life is to be regretted but given the fact this plane came down on a beach with hundreds of people on it at the height of summer, we could have been looking at many deaths and many injuries.

“What happened today in terms of two people dying in the circumstances can be considered a real miracle.”

The plane belonged to an air club in Torres Vedras north of Lisbon but had been rented to a flight school called G-Air for several years.

It took off from Tires near Lisbon, the same town where four people including acclaimed French surgeon Jean Pierre Franceschi died in April when their plane crashed near a Lidl supermarket.

G-Air, which until recently was called Aerocondor, promised the authorities full cooperation in a statement and sent their condolences to the families of the victims.

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